Chapter 1 of The Return of the Prodigal is here in full — 421 sentences across 85 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter I
Chapter 1 of The Return of the Prodigal is here in full — 421 sentences across 85 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
THE MACMILLAN CO. OF CANADA, Ltd. AUTHOR OF "THE DIVINE FIRE," ETC. By MAY SINCLAIR Set up and electrotyped. Published June, 1914.
Chapter 1 of The Return of the Prodigal is here in full — 421 sentences across 85 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/84 · 5 reading units · Lines 1–5
These definitions explain words found in the current reading and keep every example grounded in its original sentence.
Oxford-style entry order: headword, part of speech, US IPA, concise definition, contextual example, and audio.
writes (books or stories or articles or the like) professionally (for pay)
From this reading “AUTHOR OF "THE DIVINE FIRE," ETC.”
a nation in northern North America; the French were the first Europeans to settle in mainland Canada
From this reading “OF CANADA, Ltd.”
emanating from God
From this reading “AUTHOR OF "THE DIVINE FIRE," ETC.”
start firing a weapon
From this reading “AUTHOR OF "THE DIVINE FIRE," ETC.”
the month following May and preceding July
From this reading “Published June, 1914.”
prepared and printed for distribution and sale
From this reading “Published June, 1914.”
put into a certain place or abstract location
From this reading “By MAY SINCLAIR Set up and electrotyped.”
United States writer whose novels argued for social reform (1878-1968)
From this reading “By MAY SINCLAIR Set up and electrotyped.”
English keeps certain words together, and knowing the pair is worth more than knowing each word alone. Every partnership below was counted across our whole published library, and earns its place by appearing far more often than two unrelated words of the same frequency would.
Shown as this reading writes them, with the form the library counts, what kind of pairing it is, and how often it occurs.
set up or found
In this reading “By MAY SINCLAIR Set up and electrotyped.”
Every word in these five lines is listed here, and every one of them can be played on its own.
Dictionary details are shown only when verified; these are not licensed Oxford entries.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Published June, 1914.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading By MAY SINCLAIR Set up and electrotyped.
writes (books or stories or articles or the like) professionally (for pay)
From this reading AUTHOR OF "THE DIVINE FIRE," ETC.
showing who or what does the action
From this reading By MAY SINCLAIR Set up and electrotyped.
a nation in northern North America; the French were the first Europeans to settle in mainland Canada
From this reading OF CANADA, Ltd.
an odorless very poisonous gas that is a product of incomplete combustion of carbon
From this reading THE MACMILLAN CO.
emanating from God
From this reading AUTHOR OF "THE DIVINE FIRE," ETC.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading By MAY SINCLAIR Set up and electrotyped.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading AUTHOR OF "THE DIVINE FIRE," ETC.
start firing a weapon
From this reading AUTHOR OF "THE DIVINE FIRE," ETC.
the month following May and preceding July
From this reading Published June, 1914.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading OF CANADA, Ltd.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading THE MACMILLAN CO.
used to say something is possible, or to give permission
From this reading By MAY SINCLAIR Set up and electrotyped.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading OF CANADA, Ltd.
prepared and printed for distribution and sale
From this reading Published June, 1914.
put into a certain place or abstract location
From this reading By MAY SINCLAIR Set up and electrotyped.
United States writer whose novels argued for social reform (1878-1968)
From this reading By MAY SINCLAIR Set up and electrotyped.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading THE MACMILLAN CO.
being or moving higher in position or greater in some value; being above a former position or level
From this reading By MAY SINCLAIR Set up and electrotyped.
Chapter 1 of The Return of the Prodigal by May Sinclair holds 421 sentences, grouped into 85 reading sections of at most 5 sentences. The text is the source edition, unabridged, and the chapter records which sentences cover which part of the work so that nothing is dropped. Every word can be tapped for its pronunciation and dictionary entry.
Chapter 1 holds 421 sentences of The Return of the Prodigal, unabridged, divided into 85 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 1 of The Return of the Prodigal by May Sinclair exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 421 sentences, grouped into 85 sections of at most 5 sentences so that a reader can take the chapter in steady, finishable pieces. The chapter also stores a coverage record mapping every one of its sentences to a part of the work, which is how the edition demonstrates that no line was dropped.
Work through the 85 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 85 sections in this chapter is short enough to read once, hear once, and then re-read with the vocabulary in view. Tapping a word plays it alone and opens its dictionary entry with IPA, part of speech and meaning, so the reader is never forced to guess a pronunciation from spelling. Working section by section keeps a long chapter from becoming an undifferentiated wall of text, which is the usual reason a reader abandons a work of this period.
Yes — every sentence and every individual word in chapter 1 can be played aloud in United States English.
Audio covers the whole chapter: any sentence can be played, and any single word within it can be played on its own. The voice uses United States English. For a work of this period that matters, because spelling is an unreliable guide to pronunciation for vocabulary that has fallen out of daily use, and a learner who guesses wrong tends to keep the error. Hearing the word in its own sentence, and then alone, settles it.
Common questions about reading The Return of the Prodigal by May Sinclair on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 7139 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #31595 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #31595, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 594 minutes of reading across 1428 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through The Return of the Prodigal section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 15 chapters of The Return of the Prodigal to begin.
Each section holds 5 sentences; read it once through.
Play the section aloud, then tap any unfamiliar word for its entry.
Words and structures a reader meets early in The Return of the Prodigal, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
